A quantitative improvement in the performance of a technology in the applied physical sciences, whether it be a solar cell with higher conversion efficiency or a detector with greater sensitivity, is an important stamp on progress which can strengthen an application. However, it is often unclear how performance improvements alone can enable real-life applications; an improvement in a particular performance metric doesn’t necessarily bring realization of that technology any closer. Conversely, new ideas that could open the door to new functionality aren’t necessarily accompanied by immediately impressive metrics. How can laboratory findings be effectively translated into technological advances that become useful in everyday life? While we support the publication of performance improvements, we also wish to encourage authors to look beyond performance metrics alone when reporting their technological improvements and think about the pathway to a practical technology.

中文翻译：

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性能改进与设备实用性之间的细线

无论是转换效率更高的太阳能电池还是灵敏度更高的检测器，应用物理科学技术的性能的定量改进都是可以增强应用程序的重要标志。但是，常常不清楚的是，仅靠性能改进便可以实现实际的应用程序。特定性能指标的改进不一定会使该技术的实现更紧密。相反，可能为新功能打开大门的新想法并不一定伴随着立即令人印象深刻的指标。如何将实验室发现有效地转化为对日常生活有用的技术进步？虽然我们支持发布性能改进，